Radiofrequency Lesioning for Sciatica

Radiofrequency lesioning for sciatica is a symptomatic surgical
procedure which is sometimes used in place of pharmaceutical nerve block
epidural injections.

The RFL procedure is typically done in the doctor’s office and takes
about half an hour to complete. After it is finished, the patient is
free to go home and rest and hopefully feel some relief from their
sciatica pain.

It must be understood that although radiofrequency lesioning can
be highly effective for indicated pain syndromes, it will never resolve
the actual underlying source of symptoms. It will only prevent the
pain from registering in the brain.

This essay will detail the popular surgical pain management procedure called radiofrequency nerve ablation.

Radiofrequency Lesioning for Sciatica Explained

RFL is done when advanced neurological testing has pinpointed the
origin of symptoms as coming from a particular nerve or set of nerves.

Instead of determining why these nerves are symptomatic, the doctor
instead uses radiofrequency lesioning to treat the pain and leave the
underlying causative condition unchanged.

This symptomatic approach might be considered for many reasons, but is typical for patients who demonstrate idiopathic
radicular pain
syndromes without an obvious spinal source.

During
radiofrequency lesioning, the doctor uses a small electrode, placed in a
long thin needle, to reach the nerve which is signaling pain. This is
usually accomplished using live x-ray equipment to detail the treatment
region more accurately.

Once the electrode is close enough to
the target, an electric current will be sent out into the painful nerve,
disrupting its signaling ability. Being that nerve signals are
electric in nature, the current from the electrode scrambles the
messages, making them incoherent to the brain.

Radiofrequency Lesioning for Sciatica Problems

Besides the small risks inherent to this procedure, including
infection, spinal fluid leak or a permanently damaged nerve, the
treatment has one major flaw: It is symptomatic
sciatica surgery.

This procedure does not do anything to cure the condition causing the pain and worse yet, produces temporary results.

Generally,
first round treatment of radiofrequency lesioning lasts from 4 to 12
months. Subsequent rounds might only last half that time or even less.

The technique is not effective for every patient and some
individuals see no relief at all. Even in the best case scenario, the
patient is once again bound into an ongoing treatment regimen, which
will need to be maintained long-term.

Radiofrequency Lesioning for Sciatica Summation

I am not a big fan of symptomatic treatment or spinal surgery, no
matter how minimally invasive it may be.

RFL is a good option for
people who are in agony and simply need some temporary relief while
searching for a true cure. It is also an acceptable option for patients
with extremely rare incurable chronic pain conditions, purely for
humanitarian purposes.

If you are going to try radiofrequency
lesioning, make sure your doctor uses fluoroscopy to maximize the
accuracy of the treatment. Without this live x-ray, this already
sketchy procedure becomes a literal shot in the dark.